Government+and+Politics

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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN CANADA ** To the left is an image of the Royal Coat of Arms for Canada

Canada exists as a democratic nation with strong democratic traditions and a parliamentary government. Parliament consists of the Crown, an elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate. General elections must be called by the Prime Minister within five years of the previous election. If this does not occur, then elections may be triggered by the government, causing the loss of a confidence vote in the House. Members of the Senate are chosen by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the Governor General. These seats are apportioned on a regional basis and these members serve until age 75. Four parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2008 elections: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the Liberal Party of Canada (Official Opposition), the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the // Bloc Québécois //. The executive political panel consists of the Prime Minister (head of government) and the Cabinet, which c arries out the day-to-day decisions of government. The Cabinet is made up of ministers usually selected from the House of Commons and headed by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's Office   (PMO) is one of the most powerful institutions in government. While initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval, they additionally select, besides other Cabinet members, Senators, federal court judges, heads of Crown corporations and government agencies, and the Governor General.

The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the party with the second most seats. They are additionally a part of an adversarial parliamentary system that keeps the government in check.

Michaelle Jean h as served as Governor General since September 27, 2005; Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party h as been Prime Minister since February 6, 2006; and Michael Ignatieff, i nterim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, has been Leader of the Opposition since December 10, 2008.

  References: The information throughout this space is taken from exerpts of wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada

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